Ben Cutting was discussed as a national prospect after leading the 2009-10 Sheffield Shield wicket list with 46 victims at 23.91. There was even talk that if he hadn't been involved in the final at the MCG it might have been him heading to New Zealand to join the Test squad as a standby player instead of South Australia's Peter George. Finally, he did get a chance against that team, when he was named in Australia's squad for the Gabba Test in the 2011-12 season.

Capable of creating steepling bounce from his 1.92m height, Cutting owns two types of bouncer, including a very fast one which often surprises the batsmen. He used all his weapons to help Queensland last summer, holding up the bowling while Chris Hartley carried the batting.

A career-best 6 for 37 came against Tasmania and he picked up the Test players Phil Jaques, Phillip Hughes and Simon Katich on the way to 5 for 82 against New South Wales. He added another 15 victims in the one-day competition and made useful, often brutal, contributions with the bat. However, the off-season was spent recovering from ankle surgery.

Cutting benefitted from a raft of injuries to make his Pura Cup debut in the first game of the 2007-08 season. After starting with a legside delivery that went for five wides against Tasmania, he captured three wickets in a strong opening, but from there his summer was upset by a nagging side strain. He returned to the Academy in 2008, having impressed the coaches there in 2007, and built on the gains made as part of the Australia Under-19 team that reached the semi-finals of the 2006 Youth World Cup in Sri Lanka. In 2008-09 he waited until the end of the season to add to his Sheffield Shield tally, playing three matches, including the final, and capturing eight wickets. ESPNcricinfo staff